X-tra Crunchy Chicken Strips

serves 5 / gluten free / egg free
The childhood staple of chicken nuggets went quickly by the wayside with my son's allergies. We started to live solely on ground beef for our only source of meat. So I started to dabble in an effort to find something with the crunchy outside that he so craved. Healthy? It could be better, but it certainly satisfies!

1 1/2 lb. Chicken Tenders

1/2 cup gluten free flour mix (see www.glutenfreecookingschool.com all-purpose flour)

1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash onion herb seasoning

2 cups crushed Corn Flakes

5 oz. can Evaporated Milk

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Canola Oil for frying

First set out 3 bowls and 2 plates. In first bowl combine gluten free all purpose flour and Mrs. Dash. In second bowl combine Evaporated Milk and lemon juice. In third bowl place 1/2 of your crushed corn flakes.

The first step is to dredge tenders in flour and place on first plate.
When all tenders are coated with flour, fill your deepest frying pan with 1/8 inch of canola oil. Set burner at med. While oil is heating prepare first 4 tenders by dipping into milk mix, then coating with corn flakes.

Check that oil is hot enough (sizzles when you put a corn flake in, but not so hot that it smokes). To place chicken in pan do not drop!  Using a fork, skewer chicken by one end and lower slowly into hot oil dragging it along bottom of pan until the entire piece in flat, then remove fork. Do not fry more than 3 or 4 pieces at once. Cook on first side for a couple min, or until tenders start to feel firm to the touch and you can see a bit of white to the edges under the crust. Turn and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Repeat with remaining chicken tenders. You may need to reduce heat after the first batch. Add fresh corn flakes to the corn flake bowl as needed. You may need to strain loose corn flakes from the hot oil half way through the batch-a slotted spoon works well for this. Do not reuse remaining coating mixtures-they are pretty nasty by the end.

Grammy's Potato Salad (egg free version!)

serves 12 / egg free / gluten free / dairy free

My Grandmother was a fantastic cook. When I was little she taught my brother and me many of her recipes. Unfortunately, she only used recipes for baking! So this will be the first time measurements have been recorded for this one-here goes!

(adapted from Grandma Bosshart's Potato Salad)

5 lbs. Russet Potatoes

1/2 lb. extra firm Tofu

1 1/2 cups Dill Pickles, chopped

4 tablespoons Dill Pickle Relish

1 bunch Green Onions, sliced

1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

4 tablespoons Kosher Salt

1/4 cup Yellow Mustard

1 1/3 cup Veganaise

2 tablespoons Agave Nectar

2 tablespoons Dill Pickle juice (from the jar of pickles)

First put the potatoes in a large enough pot to cover them with cold water. Put on high and bring to boil. Once boiling turn burner down to med-high. Boil until potatoes start to fall apart, check around 20-30 min. Do NOT under cook. While potatoes are cooking drain tofu and pat dry. Dice tofu and set aside. Drain cooked potatoes into strainer and give them a couple min. to dry.

Spread dry, but still very hot potatoes, on a rimmed baking sheet. Very carefully begin to remove skins from hot potatoes. If you have heat sensitive hands, try using clean rubber gloves for this step. When skins are removed, coarsely cut potatoes with knife, then sprinkle with diced tofu. Sprinkle potato/tofu mixture with 1/2 of the kosher salt. Next drizzle with 1/2 the vinegar. Let sit about 5 min, then turn potatoes mixture and season with second half of salt and vinegar. Taste potatoes at this point. They should be perfectly seasoned, if not, do a third pass with salt and vinegar.

While potato mixture cools to room temp., chop pickles and green onions. Set aside in bowl with dill relish. In another bowl whisk together the Veganaise, mustard, agave, and pickle juice. When potato mix has come to room temp., fold all 3 components together in large bowl. Chill at least 3 hrs, or over night. If you don't mention it, no one will ever guess that this is egg-free!